.
Ava stared into the darkness.
JC stepped in front of her.
"I'll go first."
Ava shook her head.
"No."
"Ava—"
"I am queen."
JC smiled slightly.
"And that means you should let someone else walk into a dark underground passage first."
She almost laughed.
"Fine."
JC went down.
Ava followed.
They descended for what seemed like several minutes.
The palace above them became silent.
At the bottom was a long corridor.
Old torches lined the walls.
Yet somehow, some of them were still burning.
JC stopped.
"That's impossible."
Ava looked around.
"Nothing about this place feels normal."
They continued.
At the end of the corridor stood an enormous wooden door.
There was a symbol carved into it.
Ava recognized it immediately.
The same black symbol from the palace wall.
Her heart began beating faster.
JC touched the door.
"It isn't locked."
Ava stepped beside him.
"Open it."
The door creaked.
Beyond it was a massive underground chamber.
Old books filled the shelves.
Ancient weapons hung from the walls.
Maps covered enormous tables.
And in the center of the room stood a stone pedestal.
On it was a single sealed box.
Ava slowly approached.
"Who built this?"
JC looked at the walls.
"I don't know."
Ava saw something carved beneath the pedestal.
She wiped away the dust.
Her breath stopped.
It was her family's royal symbol.
"This belonged to my ancestors."
JC looked at her.
"Then your family knew about this place."
"Maybe."
Ava reached for the box.
Before her fingers touched it—
A voice echoed through the chamber.
"You finally found it."
Ava spun around.
JC immediately raised his sword.
A man stood in the shadows.
He wore no armor.
No crown.
Only a long dark coat.
His face was partly hidden.
"Who are you?"
The stranger stepped forward.
"My name is Kael."
Ava froze.
JC's expression changed.
"Kael?"
The man smiled.
"Yes."
Ava tightened her grip on her sword.
"You are supposed to be dead."
Kael laughed softly.
"That is what your enemies wanted you to believe."
JC moved closer to Ava.
"You were part of the Black Order."
Kael nodded.
"I was."
"Then why are you here?"
Kael looked at Ava.
"Because the Black Order was never Tyler's army."
Ava's eyes narrowed.
"What do you mean?"
"Tyler was only a weapon."
The room seemed to become colder.
Ava stared at him.
"Who controlled him?"
Kael's smile disappeared.
"The same people who have been controlling kingdoms for generations."
JC stepped forward.
"Names."
Kael looked toward the sealed box.
"You are standing in front of the truth."
Ava turned toward it.
"What is inside?"
"The reason your parents died."
Ava stopped breathing.
"What did you say?"
Kael continued.
"Your father's death was not simply the result of Tyler's war."
Ava's eyes filled with anger.
"Don't lie to me."
"I am not."
"Then tell me the truth."
Kael looked directly into her eyes.
"King Jack knew the Black Order existed."
Ava shook her head.
"No."
"He knew."
"And my mother?"
"She knew too."
Ava stepped backward.
"You're lying."
Kael's voice softened.
"They were trying to protect you."
JC looked at Ava.
"Ava..."
But she raised her hand.
"Let him speak."
Kael continued.
"Armstrong City was never supposed to fall."
Ava stared at him.
"Then why did it?"
"Because someone inside the kingdom betrayed your family."
Silence filled the chamber.
JC's hand tightened around his sword.
"Who?"
Kael looked toward the ceiling.
"Someone you trusted."
Ava's heart sank.
"Who?"
Kael didn't answer.
Instead, he walked toward the sealed box.
"The answer is inside."
Ava moved beside him.
"What is this?"
Kael placed his hand on the box.
"Your family's greatest secret."
He opened it.
Inside was an ancient golden crown.
But it was unlike any crown Ava had ever seen.
It had no jewels.
No decoration.
Only a strange symbol at its center.
Ava stared at it.
"What is that?"
Kael whispered:
"The Crown of the Future."
JC frowned.
"The future?"
Kael nodded.
"It was created hundreds of years ago."
Ava looked confused.
"What does it do?"
Kael looked at her.
"It doesn't control kingdoms."
"Then what?"
"It chooses who will."
Ava stepped closer.
"Chooses?"
"Every few generations, the crown reveals the person capable of changing the future of the entire land."
Ava stared at the crown.
"And you believe that person is me?"
Kael shook his head.
"No."
Ava's heart stopped.
"Then who?"
Kael looked directly at JC.
Everyone became silent.
JC stared back.
"Me?"
Kael nodded.
"You."
Ava looked at JC in disbelief.
"Why?"
Kael reached into his coat.
He removed an old document.
"This belonged to your father."
Ava took it.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
King Jack.
Her hands trembled as she unfolded the paper.
There was only one sentence.
When the kingdom falls, protect the boy from Jubilee.
Ava looked at JC.
"Jubilee."
JC's face had gone pale.
"That's my father's kingdom."
Kael nodded.
"Your father, Morale Walker, was not simply a powerful warrior."
Ava stared at him.
"What was he?"
Kael's voice became almost a whisper.
"The last Guardian of the Crown of the Future."
JC stepped backward.
"No."
Kael looked at him.
"Your father hid you because he knew the Black Order would eventually come for you."
Ava suddenly remembered everything.
The way JC had always protected her.
The way Morale Walker had kept secrets.
The strange conversations she had once overheard.